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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Homeless feeding questioned Disc golf course coming to Cave Junction park Human remains found in burning trailer Fear of orphaned cubs nixes new spring bear hunt Cecil, Stricker to face off again in mayor's race Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Fallen White City firefighter to be honored at national service Barn fire may have been human-caused Emergency services Inmates to get mental health, addiction treatment Missing Medford man found safe in Sweet Home Politics and Elections Cecil, Stricker to face off again in mayor's race Commissioner candidates Talbert, Roberts duel for endorsements Falls: Jackson County sheriff's race isn't over Former sheriff calls Winters' retirement decision 'very wise' Will 'GMO effect' shape election? Education EP school district launches new app Striving to make the grade Fresh produce goes home with Jackson Elementary families State mandates eye exams for kids 7 and younger Eagle Point School District goes silent on gun issue Environment Fear of orphaned cubs nixes new spring bear hunt Josephine County ballot measure would ban commercial and government pesticide use Low water exposes Emigrant Lake's past Wagner Creek work would restore streambank Deer-killing disease won't taint meat for hunters State news Nation - World Obituaries Calvin Schaefer Norma Mae Prilliman Elizabeth Anne Jones Jesse Jay Gilchrist Lorraine Antcha Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories South rebounds with rout of Roseburg Ashland drops MWL boys match to Churchill Hay rallies Pirates past Henley Gadget play gives Grizz win over Comets GP dashes North’s hopes Varsity 541 College Sports Stanford cruises past Washington State High stakes for No. 12 Oregon, No. 18 UCLA Raider men win handily Raiders shut out Eastern Oregon Georgia star Gurley suspended for alleged violation Pro Sports Gordon-led Royals beat Orioles 8-6 in ALCS Donovan hits post in US swan song Birdie binge puts Laird in front at Frys.com Giants-Cards: Here we go again in NLCS Colts hold on for 33-28 win over Texans Community Sports Business Latest Stories Ranchers offer livestock exchange Lithia buys Clovis dealership Blog: When Life Gives You Lemons... Medford airport has busiest September ever County hopes to spur renewable energy Real Estate News Lithia buys Clovis dealership Rental vacancies increase Jackson County real estate sales, prices continue rebound Pallet Wine Co. expands in downtown Medford Medford's Pixel Productions moves to new quarters People In Business Transportation Lithia buys Clovis dealership Agriculture Ranchers offer livestock exchange 1-800-Flowers CEO: Labor shortage an issue for Harry & David Pallet Wine Co. expands in downtown Medford Opinion Latest Election Letters, Oct.11 Another View: Congress must act on firefighting budget Letters to the Editor, Oct. 10 Matthew T. 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Name that wolf Community blog: Battered, fried bhaji bring street food to the table Food Community blog: Battered, fried bhaji bring street food to the table Community blog: Kicking it off, a game, a season, or a pint (How about all the above?) Apples and pears make great autumn duo Community blog: Cardamom makes proverbial pairing with pears New owners bring new philosophy at 2Hawk Home and Garden How to create a fashionable painted floor cloth Dear Monty: 7 prepping tips for home showings Harvest your frost-tender tomatoes for storage Fall is a good time to plant certain perennials Start now for a bowl of winter sunshine Health Community blog: Listen Like You Mean it! Community blog: Listen Like You Mean it! Dr. Murray Feingold: Take precautions to prevent home accidents Health Watch: Make TV time workout time Community blog: Do We Need Steps For Health? 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Fear of orphaned cubs nixes new spring bear hunt ... Fallen White City firefighter to be honored at national service ... Human remains found in burning trailer ... Fear of orphaned cubs nixes new spring bear hunt ... Fallen White City firefighter to be honored at national service ... First, they came for the pit bulls ... You wonder what the dogs think about all this. By Robert Galvin MailTribune.com By Robert Galvin Posted Jan. 19, 2014 @ 12:01 am Updated Jan 19, 2014 at 2:35 AM By Robert Galvin Posted Jan. 19, 2014 @ 12:01 am Updated Jan 19, 2014 at 2:35 AM » Social News You wonder what the dogs think about all this. You likely know someone, or know someone who knows someone who has a pit bull for a pet. (It's the Law of Six Degrees of Beggin' Strips.) And that pooch, despite its taut and tough exterior, is the sweetest, most loyal, protective companion possible. In the right hands, with the proper care and training, pit bulls aren't the problem. It's the recklessness of those who own the dogs and either don't know how to care for them or, worse, purposely bring out their more dangerous qualities. Sound like a familiar argument? The thin line, perhaps between Happiness is a Warm Puppy and Happiness is a Warm Gun? And so, after a series of admittedly serious incidents involving pit bulls, the concept of "breed specific" regulations has found its way into the Medford political ring "¦ igniting a round of yapping so passionate that it makes the teacher's contract debate look like the finals of Westminster. Any minute, you expect to see Almira Gulch whisk past on her bicycle, rattle a fist and shout —¦ and your little dog, too." The pit bulls, of course, have remained relatively quiet throughout the debate — being, as they are, dogs, and incapable of speaking in coherent sentences. (Yes, I know, there's a Kardashian joke in there somewhere — but we're above that sort of thing.) If this pit bull showdown lasts much longer, however, the researchers at the Scandinavian high-tech company ST might allow us to hear from those most directly affected. The ST folks are hard at work developing "No More Woof," a headset that contains something called "electroencephalogram recorders" which apparently analyze the thought patterns of dogs and translates them into English. And if you're taking a moment here to try to remember the name of the movie where Mel Gibson walked through Central Park and could hear the thoughts of a digestively frustrated Freedom poodle "¦ it was "What Women Want." Anyway, according to a report from the Mother Nature Network, a prototype No More Woof allegedly can separate "ionic current flows" into thought patterns that translate into three main concerns — "I'm tired," "I'm hungry" and "Who are you?" Apparently, therefore, dogs have the same ionic current flows of your average American teenager. The potential benefits (beyond putting the entire pet psychic industry out of business) are endless, albeit limited to dogs. It's hard to imagine a cat allowing you to attach an electroencephalogram recorder to its head. Since local pit bulls have yet to be fitted for their No More Woofs (Wooves?), you can only imagine that they aren't happy hearing about the concept of breed-specific regulations. Can background checks, licenses, muzzles and drone patrols be that far behind? And that's just for those whose thoughts don't have to be translated. Ashland — a community that cherishes independence as long as you don't use plastic grocery bags, immunize your children, install cell towers, drive outside the straight lines of the road diet, genetically modify your corn, rent spare rooms to tourists or let chemtrails drift over its skies — would rather install smart meters than put electroencephalograms on its canine citizenry. It does, however, keep dogs from having free reign in some of its parks. Better to limit potential dangers, especially those that won't pick up after themselves. In a similar vein, a group called Citizens for a Safe Ashland will bring before the City Council next month a proposal for tighter gun restrictions. A petition calls for a ban on persons openly carrying loaded weapons in town, but would not apply to police officers or those with a concealed handgun license. Well, better a concealed Glock than a concealed pit bull, I suppose, but it seems as though a loaded gun is a loaded gun ... Just because you can't see its teeth, doesn't mean it's won't bite. The Oregon Firearms Association, right on cue, has called for gun owners to stop spending vacation dollars in Ashland — which, if you stop to think about it for a moment "¦ ... uh-huh. Perhaps the next citizen petition to improve safety conditions in Ashland could be an expansion of the road diet into the aisles of the co-op "¦ where grocery shoppers tend to create direction navigability patterns that show little of the basic instincts of the dogs they leave latched outside to poles. Dogs are equipped with the ability to use "¦ oh, no, here come the quote marks "¦ a sense of "magnetoreception," which means they align themselves along the axis of the North and South poles for a specific purpose. Scientists (who else?) in Germany have determined through a two-year study of 70 dogs (37 different breeds) that canines assume a position along a stable magnetic axis between the poles when they seek to "¦ um, "¦ well "¦ relieve themselves. The report in the journal "Frontiers in Zoology" cites the study of 7,475 instances of having scientists watch dogs do their business. It would have been more, but for performance anxiety. Along with the north-south alignment when a stable magnetic field existed, the scientists also discovered that, yup, male dogs took a different stance than female dogs when urinating. You've got to be "¦ We probably don't need to wonder what the dogs are thinking about the impositions of human beings on their lives. We probably already know. Mail Tribune news editor Robert Galvin can be reached at [email protected] By Robert Galvin MailTribune.com By Robert Galvin Posted Jan. 19, 2014 @ 12:01 am Updated Jan 19, 2014 at 2:35 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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